6/11/2004

69. Serge Gainsbourg, Comic Strip (Polydor, 1997)

Proof that you don't have to look good to sound sexy (although being French helps). Already a dirty old man when he was in his early 40's, Gainsbourg spent the late sixties crafting a sort of inimitable nudge-nudge, wink-wink, totally groovy smut pop with a little help from Brigitte Bardot (dueting with him on the immortal "Bonnie and Clyde") and a lot of assistance from Jane Birkin (especially on the infamous "Je T'Aime... Moi Non Plus"). This is all the Serge you'll ever need, full of nonsense jive ("Shu Ba Du Ba Loo Ba", "Comic Strip"), happy-go-lucky suicide attempts ("Chatterton"), single entendres ("Les Sucettes"), and ironic detachment up the wazoo. If only he could've scored his own The Umbrellas of Cherbourg...